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Yes, it will be a wonderful addition to my collection. However that is not all.

More so, it will be a learning tool for how these types of lasers work. I have ideas to build at least two He-metal vapor lasers (HVL).

I have a dead one, and a diagram of all it's components. I use the two of these to follow the "ion path" of sorts. Following the sidearm He reservoir, to the laser bore. As well as locating the Cd well and doing the same. Finding where they mix, looking at the cold trap at the OC. Viewing what the laser would look like in slow motion in my head. How it'd all work out. Understanding why they put certain pieces where.

This will allow me to actually watch this process live, and give me practice with aligning such lasers.

What better way to learn about HVLs, and learn how to build my own, than by watching one run?

So in a nutshell, my "use" for this laser is to learn about them, so I can build my own . The UV? Well, that's just a bonus to fill a wavelength gap

If you want around 480-520, use a coumarin variation. If you want reds and oranges, use rhodamine. Specifically rhodamine 6G for decent orange coverage.

Look up the above two (coumarin and rhodamine) to find good variants for your specific wavelength. They all have different versions for different spectrums.

As far as decent dye cells, the most basic, and very functional, uses microscope slides held together with silicone or hot glue. Just remember that the output from the dye cell will be perpendicular to the input beam.

The above leads to a couple more add-one to the laser. Either to increase output, or provide tunability.

On one output side (waste beam) you can add a mirror that effectively send that light back through the cavity (dye cell) to the output. Meaning more power.

If you use a reflective grating, you can use it to sleeve wavelengths if you're using a dye that allows resonation of more than one, such as a rhodamine like mentioned above.